Djokovic reveals his secret: Negative emotions are OK. It’s about how fast you bounce back
The Serb has always found a way to click straight back into focus immediately after losing his temper
Novak Djokovic at an Asics event before the Australian Open 2025 – © Tennis Majors
In his journey to becoming the best male player in history, Novak Djokovic has learned many things about himself.
Coaches, incredible training, flexibility, recovery and innate talent have all played their part but in Melbourne on Thursday, the 37-year-old revealed one of the most important aspects that he feels has served him well throughout his illustrious career; overcoming negative feelings, quickly.
Many time at big moments in big matches, Djokovic has lost his temper, ranting toward his box at an injustice, or something he feels has gone against him. But almost every single time, Djokovic has been able to click back into full focus, immediately. Getting bad feelings out of his system, he says, is not a bad thing.
“I know myself and how stressed and nervous I get on the court at times, and I express that sometimes also in a negative way,” Djokovic said at the Asics Tennis Summit.
“I don’t think it’s wrong if you experience those emotions. think it’s part of you, part of the competition. Obviously, each individual is different (but) I think what is important is, how do you balance back? How do you always bring yourself back to that optimal state where you are present and focus on the next move, on the next point or the next moment.
“I feel like this is where the secret lies when it comes to mental strength and capacities and abilities to really deal with pressure and cope with moments and understand how how to get the most out of your experience mentally on the court as well. “
“You’re getting bonus points, mentally, when you push through”
Ten times the winner in Melbourne, Djokovic is chasing a record 25th Grand Slam title, one more than the current mark he shares with Margaret Court. The Serbian said having the right attitude is crucial, especially when you’re not feeling 100 percent or you wake up feeling a little down.
“There’s so many different factors and challenges that are involved in in the one single match of a tennis player, because you’re by yourself if something is wrong. I didn’t sleep very well last night. My stomach felt a little bit strange. So this morning, I felt quite sluggish on the practice (court) but you kind of push through.
And (you do it) because you know that maybe you’re not getting what you want from your game in that practice, but you are getting those bonus points mentally that you’re kind of stacking on the side that you can use as a reserve when it matters, because you prove to yourself that you can overcome certain moments which seem to be very difficult to overcome in terms of a mental challenge.
“We’re all human beings, and it’s difficult to be at your best at all times. So I remind myself, because I’m very self-critical, so I try to remind myself that it’s not possible always to be at your best, to perform at your best in every training session, every match and so forth. So it’s an ongoing evolution in terms of understanding yourself and the changes that you’re experiencing in your body, in your mind.”
“I wish I could play every week like Australian Open 2023”
Players love to talk about when they are in the zone, the moment when everything just comes naturally, the brain making way for the body to do its job. But most of the time, it’s a constant battle between the two.
“I tried to nurture the kind of open mind and openness towards anything that is happening to me or around me, and I try to learn from whatever videos that I’m listening to, podcasts, books, people that I talk to. I feel like it’s when you least expect (that) you most get the lesson,” he said.
“I wish I can play always like, I played, I don’t know, in 2023 Australian Open where, you know, smacking every ball and was not missing a lot, and won the whole tournament just dropping one set. Yeah, I want to freeze myself in that moment. It’s like in that movie (Demolition Man) and Sylvester Stallone wakes up, you know, 50 years after in the coma, you know? And he’s like, people are not using toilet paper for the toilet, but some shells, you know, it’s funny.
“Anyway, he’s shocked. He’s like, OK, what’s going on? So you can’t be frozen, you’re ever evolving. And it’s everything is changing.”
